Duke Blue Devils Triumphant Following Loss
DURHAM, N.C.- The Duke Blue Devils conquered the SIUE Edwardsville Cougars, defeating them 90-47, and regained momentum after their loss to Michigan State.
The Blue Devils controlled the tempo from the opening minutes, using balanced scoring, strong defense, and excellent rebounding to build a lead. Defensively, Duke made life difficult for SIUE, limiting the Cougars to just 20 first-half points and going on a 16-2 run that held them scoreless for about 5 minutes. The Blue Devils also forced 11 turnovers and made seven steals, creating additional scoring opportunities. Duke maintained its defensive intensity, continued moving the ball headed into halftime with a comfortable 43-20 lead.
The Blue Devils added to their 23-point halftime advantage in the second half and continued to control the game on both ends of the floor. Duke’s depth and athleticism proved too much for SIUE, as the Blue Devils extended their lead to 43 points. The Blue Devils maintained control throughout the final 20 minutes without allowing SIUE to mount a serious comeback.
Cayden Boozer had yet another double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and a steal. I asked Cayden after the game, “In the future, what’s something the team needs to do better? Playing more physically? Committing turnovers? Long scoring droughts?” He commented, “I think the biggest thing is just when we have those moments where we might turn the ball over, we might not get an offensive rebound, we might go on a scoring drought; it’s just how we respond…it’s a long game, we have 40 minutes, and all those possessions matter, so that’s the biggest part: just responding to whatever happens in a game.”
Duke emphasized the meaning of team in this contest when it came to distributing the basketball. Six Blue Devils scored in double digits. The big men provided good numbers around the basket, with Patrick Ngongba posting 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and five blocks, while Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje had 11 points, nine rebounds, and a steal. The guards played to their game; Dame Sarr recorded 12 points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Coming off the bench was a great duo: Caleb Foster put up 12 points and three rebounds, along with Sebastian Wilkins, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. The Blue Devils continued to build chemistry and establish their presence on the court.
Now improving their record to 3-1, the Blue Devils look ahead to next week as they prepare for a tough matchup back at Cameron Indoor Stadium against the No. 3-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini on Tuesday, November 17th at 7:00pm.